Lead Ammo!

[Rred]

Interesting page, but it generated a message about a bad certificate, a possible malicious site, a request to store cookies from who-knows-who, and then it totally froze my browser.

Dunno about that reef but I expect those are belts that divers lose when reboarding boats. I guess rich folks dive there. Everyplace else someone is always happy to say "Look what I found!" and snatch them up shortly after.

 

[kelemvor]

Pity, since steel shot isn't really much more expensive than lead shot. The gun club I shoot trap at allows only steel (skyway trap & skeet). There's really no reason I can think of to use lead shot other than a small cost savings. I wonder why the push for change to allow lead again, just to prove a point?

I think Cuzza's point is also a good one. We can't do anything about someone else shooting lead shot into the ocean, but we might be able do a better job of managing the lead we bring in. I say might, because I don't think anyone drops their weights on purpose unless it's in an emergency.

So what do you do to solve that problem? Require divers to use some other substance for ballast?

 

[Rred]

I expect that steel shot will wear out the chokes on shotgun muzzles, the same wear it wears rifling and barrels in general.

But if anyone is really concerned with ecology...really...the answer is to ban diving entirely. Those damned divers discharging uncontrolled gasses into the waters. Sun lotions, lubricant chemicals, boats full of toxic bottom paints, exhaust gasses and contaminants. Divers kicking corals and crushing critters in the sand. Really.

Lead? What's that about just a drop in the ocean?

 

[CuzzA]

Pity, since steel shot isn't really much more expensive than lead shot. The gun club I shoot trap at allows only steel (skyway trap & skeet). There's really no reason I can think of to use lead shot other than a small cost savings. I wonder why the push for change to allow lead again, just to prove a point?

I think Cuzza's point is also a good one. We can't do anything about someone else shooting lead shot into the ocean, but we might be able do a better job of managing the lead we bring in. I say might, because I don't think anyone drops their weights on purpose unless it's in an emergency.

So what do you do to solve that problem? Require divers to use some other substance for ballast?

I did a little more digging and I think it's fair to hear both sides of the argument. kelemvor, my understanding is there are already bans against lead shot and places like our Skyway Trap & Skeet won't be changing. Apparently the ban that was reversed was a last minute Executive Order by the Obama Administration on all lead ammo on his way out the door without any input from the public and wasn't based on any research.

Like I said up thread, I'm not for allowing activities that are extremely detrimental to the environment and our public resources. Since this is a Scuba website I thought it might be prudent to raise the topic of our own use of lead.

Steel is not harmful to coral as evident of steel ships used as artificial reefs. Unless of course you physically drop steel on the coral. In fact, we use granular ferric oxide (GFO) aka rust to remove excessive phosphates in aquaria to allow for water conditions that are suitable for small polyp stony coral and other sensitive marine invertebrate growth and to reduce or eliminate marine algae.

I think it would be nice for our industry to maybe consider a different metal for ballast. We've gotten away from lead in so many other industries, but for others it still remains a very popular metal. It would be interesting to know just how much lead we are dropping on the reefs. I myself have dropped lead once and have also found lead a few times.

 

[covediver]

Hunting is generally prohibited in National Parks, so this will have limited effect. (National Parks are open to subsistence hunting in AK, but it is not a big deal). No one forces anyone to chose to use lead over steel. For me this is really a matter of personal responsibility on the part of the hunter/shooter is selecting shot. And for the record, I do use steel.

 

[hakuna]

To my knowledge, lead shot for waterfowl is still illegal everywhere. What they are allowing is lead bullet ammunition and lead fishing weights. Given the size of lead bullets and the number of rounds fired, the amount that might enter the environment is extremely small in comparison to lead shot fired from shotguns. These rounds are shot over land, not water and often go home with the game that is taken. Draw you own conclusions.

 

[jbuck88]

I tend to disagree with the op on this one. I do think that the move is curb hunting then anything to do with the environment.

Lead is used because it is dense/cheap which makes for a more humane kill. Which the animal deserves. Waterfowl is another story, there is a lead ban for hunting ducks.

 

[Kharon]

Google is your friend...

This anecdote took me just a few seconds to find.

Divers Scour Blacktip Island Reefs To Save Lead Weights

But apparently not your friend:

About

A short exerpt:

"The Blacktip Times is a weekly record of news and events in the island’s small community of dreamers, reprobates and ne’er-do-wells.


Blacktip Island is fictional. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental."

 

[CuzzA]

But apparently not your friend:

About

A short exerpt:

"The Blacktip Times is a weekly record of news and events in the island’s small community of dreamers, reprobates and ne’er-do-wells.


Blacktip Island is fictional. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental."

I've been had by fake news. Kind of like this thread. Lol Honestly I just grabbed the first article from a Google search. An error on my part.

 

[covediver]

I am aware that some aquariums do not allow lead shot weights to be used by divers in their habitats as a precaution against introducing lead shot into the enclosed environment. So if a person is concerned about these things, then only solid or coated weights should be in the dive kit.